Towel cabinet and towel pack therefor



April 25, 1933. ALLEN 1,905,2(35

TOWEL CABINET AND TOWEL PACK THEREFOR Filed Dec. 9, 1931 2 Sheets-Sheet l April 25, 1933. ALLEN 1,905,206

TOWEL CABINET AND TOWEL PACK THEREFOR Filed Dec. 9, 1931 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 ATTORNEYS.

Patented Apr. 25, 1933 UNITED STATES ALEXANDER ALLEN, OF PROVIDENCE, BiI-IODE ISLAND TOWEL 'o nINEr AND TOWEL rAcK THEREFOR Application filed December This invention relates to a towel cabinet and towel pack therefor, and has for one of its objects to provide a towel pack which may be removably secured in a cabinet for use, which pack will be inepensive to launder and assemble and one which may be easily and quickly mounted in the cabinet.

Another object of the inventionis the provision of a towel cabinet and towel pack such that substantially the entire area of the towel is exposed for use, notwithstanding the securing of the towel in position.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a cabinet with the towels mounted on a shelf so inclined as to permit easy assembly and greater available supporting area and the provision of a retaining slide for permitting but one towel at a time to be withdrawn.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a construction whereby the towel pack may be locked in place to prevent unauthorized removal.

With these and other objects in View, the invention consists of certain novel features of construction, as will be more'fully described, and particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

In the accompanying drawings: 7

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the towel cabinet broken away to show the retaining slide and the towels as mounted in operative position.

Fig. 2 is a sectional view on line 2--2of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a sectional viewof a fragmental portion of the case showing the retaining slide as held in raised position for the insertion of towels into the case.

- Fig. 4 is a fragmental view of a portion of the clamp for the pack of towels and aportion of the shelf or parts on which the towels are mounted toshow thesecuring arrange- -ment for retaining the towels in position.

Fig. 5 is a sectional view on line 55 of Fig. 4. V V Fig. 6 is a perspective View of the pack in one position of assembly.

Fig. 7 is an end view'of'the towel pack assembled with each of the individual portions 9, 193i. Serial No. 579,893.

folded upon itself for mounting in the'cabinet. I

Fig. 8 is a section detail view through the shelf alone and a portion of the'pack clamp showing the latch and lock.

Fig. 9 is a section on line 9-9 of Fig. 8.

Fig. 10. is a fragmental perspectiveview of the parts shown in Figs 8. and 9.

It is frequently desirable in the use of towels to provide towels which are fastened in such a 'way that they cannot be easily taken from their place of use. It is also desirable from a standpoint of maintenance to provide as few pieces to launder as possible to cut down the costof handling, and in order to accomplish these desired results I have provided a pack of towels in which individual wipes or areas for-use are provided in one integral piece instead of two so as to reduce H the number of pieces :to be handled by the laundry, and havesupported these pieces by clamping them in a bundle across the center so that when mounted in the cabinet but a single usable area will be withdrawn at a time; and I have provided my movable support and securing means for these towels adjacent the front edge of the shelf or partition so that the maximum area of each towel is available for use, and after use may be dropped below sothat it cannot come in con- 3 tact with the unused clean towels; and I have supported this pack onthe shelfin a removable manner such that when a new pack is required'I may dismountthe clamp and ack secured thereby and replace itwith a resh= supply; and'the following is a detailed dey scription of the present embodiment of this invention illustrating the preferred means by which these advantageous results may be accomplishedk i 9.

With reference to the drawings, 10 designates the back wall ofmy cabinet which is provided with keyhole slots'11 for securing the same on the wall or to'an'y suitablesupport, although this particular mounting means is not necessary for the functioning of my device. Side walls 12 are secured to the back wall and the casing also consists ofa bottom wall 13, atopwall 14, and inclined front walls 15 and 16 leaving an opening 17 for entrance to the casing. The edges of the front walls 15 and 16 are oppositely rolled as at 18 and 19, to form a finished appearance and avoid the exposing of sharp edges which may abrade the hand or clothing with which they come in contact.

Within the casing I have supported a shelf or partition 20 by means of its flanges 21 and 22 extending along the side walls. Keyhole slots 23 are provided adjacent the front edge of the shelf and adjacent the opposite sides 12 of the casing, while the front edge of the shelf is folded to provide a flange 24 and also assist in looking the clamp as will here inafter be explained.

The towel pack, illustrated in its finished form in Figs. 2 and 7, consists of superimposed generally rectangular strips of cloth 25 of a length twice that desired for an individual wipe or use. In an assembled relation, as shown in Fig. 6, they are clamped together across their middle by means of a rod 26 having arms extending therefrom which are threaded, as illustrated. These arms 27 of the member 26 extend through the openings 29 of the plate member 28and are secured in position by means of nuts 30 having threaded engagement with the arm 27. These nuts are reduced to provide a neck portion 31 to receive the marginal edges of the opening 23 in the space 32 between the shoulders 33 thus formed and the plate 28. This provides an assembly of strips of toweling divided into halves providing portions-34 and 35, as illustrated in Fig. 6, each one of which is of sufficient area for use in wiping the hands or the like. In order to complete the-pack I fold each individual half or towel'portion such as 34 upon itself as at 36, with its end extending towards theclamp bar, while each individual towel of the other half or portion 35 is folded upon itself as indicatedat 37, the

portions 35 as a whole are doubled over upon the portions 34, as indicated in Fig. 7 so as to provide a superimposed relation of folded towels ready for assembly in the casing.

f The pack thus formed is positioned in the casing on the shelf 20which, by its inclining, adds area for support for the towels and also forms a convenient angle at which a towel may be reached by the hand to be pulled from its folded position to an extended position from the clamp for use.' The nuts 30 are positioned through the larger portion of the keyhole opening 23 and then moved so that the; space 32 about its neck receives the edgesof the opening to lock the .parts securely in position. In so positioning the packin place an eye 47 on the clamp extends through a slot 48 in a shelf to regis-, ter when in its forward position with an eye 49 on the shelf for the reception of a'padlock 50 to secure the parts against removal.

The flange 24 of the shelf is engaged by the between the'guideways 40 and 41 or either side wall 12 of the casing which slide is of 7 sheet metal with rolled edges 42 and 43 providing a curved contact end which engages the upper towel and provides suflicient drag thereon so that it is necessary to exert some little pull to remove the towel from position. Further the folded towel provides that the friction of withdrawal is exerted chiefly upon the towel to be withdrawn rather than the next towel which assists in the prevention of but one towel being withdrawn at a time.

An opening 44 serves for insertion of the finger to raise the slide 39 to position it in the notch 45 to retain it in uppermost position, as illustrated in Fig. 3, so that for insertion of a pack of towels or removal of the pack from position unobstructed access may be had to the shelf.

The shelf 20 divides the casing into two compartments with the clean towels supported above the shelf in the upper compartment,

while the soiled towels 46 are below and in the lower compartment, and by supporting the clamp at the front edge of this partition and making the same raised the maximum area for each length of cloth is available for use as a towel, whereas it may be easily positioned in the lower compartment after use, the construction being such that the soiled towels are positively and at all times separate from the clean towels for sanitary purposes.

The foregoing description is directed solely towards the construction illustrated, but I desire it to be understood that I reserve the privilege of resorting to all the mechanical changes to which the device is susceptible, the invention being defined and limited only by the terms of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In combination, a cabinet, a shelf secured thereto, a towelpack comprising a plurality of superimposed lengths-of toweling clamped together at their centers to the said shelf, the portion of toweling at each side of the clamp being each folded individually upon itself, and a sliding member in said cabinet acting upon the pack to maintain it in position, the folded portions of the towels extending past said sliding member.

2. In combination, a cabinet, a shelf secured thereto, a towel pack comprising a plurality of superimposed lengths of toweling, a clamp to secure the towels at their center to the said shelf, the portion of toweling at each side of the clamp being each folded individually upon itself, said plurality of towels at one side of the clamp being superimposed on the towels on the other side of the clamp, and a sliding member in said cabinet acting upon the pack to maintain it in position, the folded portions of the towels extending past said sliding member.

3. In combination, a cabinet, a shelf secured thereto, a towel pack comprising a plurality of superimposed lengths of toweling, a clamp to secure the towels at their center to the said shelf, the portion of toweling at each side of the clamp being each folded individually upon itself, said clamp being formed of two members, one being U- shaped and the other provided with openings to receive the arms of the U, said members extending along opposite sides of the pack, and a sliding member in said cabinet acting upon the pack to maintain it in position, the folded portion of the towels extending past said sliding member.

4:. A towel cabinet comprising a casing having an opening therein, a shelf in said casing adapted to support a towel pack and having openings adjacent the front edge thereof, the front edge of said shelf extending closely adjacent the casing opening, means for securing the towels together at their center and for removably securing said pack to said shelf at the front edge thereof comprising a clamp having recessed members to extend through said openings and engage the edges thereof.

5. A towel cabinet comprising a casing, a shelf therein adapted to support a pack of folded towels thereon, means for'engaging the foremost towel to be used and permitting its withdrawal while retaining the remaining towels in folded position, said means engaging the pack intermediate its ends, and clamping means secured adjacent to the front edge of the shelf for retaining the pack of towels, as a whole, on said shelf. I

6. A towel cabinet comprising a casing, a partition in said casing dividing said casing into upper and lower compartments, said partition being adapted to support a pack of towels thereon in the upper compartment and means secured adjacent the front edge of said partition for securing the towels together at their center and the pack to said partition, said towels being adapted to hang down into the lower compartment when used.

7. A towel cabinet comprising a casing having back, top, bottom and side walls, and upper and lower inclined front walls, with an opening into the casing between the slots at opposite sides adjacent its front edge, said shelf being adapted to support a towel pack thereon including a clamp having grooved securing members to extend through the larger parts of said keyhole slots and the grooved portions fitting the restricted portions of said keyhole slots, guideways above said shelf, and a slide in said guideways to engage the top towel and prevent unfolding of more than a single towel at a time;

8. A towel cabinet comprising a casing, a shelf supported in said casing having a slot therein, a towel pack carrying element having a clamp with an eye to extend through said slot, and a resilient latch supported on the underside of said shelf to engage said eye and hold said clamp in position at one end of said slot. I

9. In combination, a cabinet, a support secured thereto, a towel pack resting on said support and comprising a plurality of superimposed lengths of toweling, means whereby said towelsareclamped-together at their centers adjacent said support, the portion of toweling at each side of the clamp being each folded individually upon itself, and a'movable member in said cabinet acting 7 upon the pack to maintain it in position, the folded portions of the towels extending past said movable member. 7

In testimony whereof, I affix my signature.

ALEXANDER ALLEN.

edges of the inclined walls, an inclined shelf in saidcasing providing upper and lower compartments, said shelf having keyhole 

